Monday, March 02, 2009

I say that as if it's something that happens every day but let me assure you it was a very big deal and I had to hold back the squeals of excitement as if I was a teenager again, watching the 1984 Olympics.

I've interviewed a couple other famous people but this was a little different because it came out of the blue and I was told I could ask anything. It didn't have to be related to a particular product and it was just me and Mary Lou on the phone which made things feel kind of special.

So I took your questions to heart and asked her about her children (she has four daughters) and whether they're gymnasts too. I asked her if she still gets fan mail, I asked about her life with the media and how she feels about the Olympics and athletes today.

I asked her about 12 minutes worth of questions though I didn't ask her my brother's questions. Among other things he wanted to know, "So what's your carbon footprint like? What size do you wear? Like, a size four or something?"

You see our family has a history with gymnastics because I believe it was during Mary Lou's famous gold-medal vault when my youngest sister decided that she too had Olympic potential and did a dismount off the arm of the couch which broke her collar bone (though I didn't think that bringing that little incident up during the interview would be very smooth).

Ms. Retton was pleasant and friendly and much better under the pressure of the microphone than I was and you can hear our interview below. Did you know she's the most popular sports figure in America? Still? Amazing, huh? But after hearing our conversation you'll understand why.

completely random i know... but wondering if anyone else knows what i'm talking about? i have a reoccuring dream that has a song in it, and i do have to wonder if it was real from the 80s childhood i lived or if i really just dream about mary lou for no reason.

it seems to be some public service ad song that sings "mary louuu mary louuu she doesn't like smoking, she likes bowling!"

i'm pregnant again, and it could just be those wacky dreams you get... but man i would love to know if this was some random memory i'm draggin up!